HISD offering college experiences right in students’ backyard

TRACI L. WEISENBACH, Tribune Staff Writer

Published 8:00 pm, Thursday, June 19, 2008

HURONCOUNTY— While in high school, some students have the capability to handle college-level courses because of their academic prowess, but often they’re not given an opportunity to delve into a college environment. That’s about to change for Huron County students interested in math, science, and information technology.

The Huron Intermediate School District has formed partnerships with Saint Clair County Community College and Baker College to offer high school students the opportunity to earn high school credit along with college credit while tackling a college-level curriculum that will give them a headstart on their post-secondary education. It’s possible for high school students in these programs to earn up to 36 college credits before they ever step foot on campus.

Huron Intermediate School District Superintendent Bob Colby said even during a time when school districts are tightening budgets more and more, districts can’t lose focus on their primary goal.

“They can’t take their eyes off the need to provide quality educational experiences for students,” he said.

The partnerships came about last summer when HISD Superintendent Bob Colby approached Baker, SC4, Davenport University and Delta College about forming early college partnerships to benefit high school students. Colby said because SC4 already has a Math and Science Academy, which is sponsored by the St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA), he figured bringing such an academy to Huron County would be a perfect fit. The two-year academy, which will be conducted in the morning, will begin this fall and will be located at Bad Axe High School. The instructors for the academy will be provided by SC4.

Scott Whipple, HISD science/technology outreach teacher, and Jennifer Trusock, HISD math/technology outreach teacher, have been working on finding qualified students for the academy and will serve as academy advisors. Whipple said an informational meeting was conducted this spring for interested students and their parents. Information about the academy was disseminated through the school districts.

It’s preferred that students start off in the academy as juniors so they can complete the full two-year program.

One of the criteria for qualifying for the academy is performing well on a three-hour, five-component aptitude test. Students also need a grade point average of at least 3.4.

Another requirement is getting three recommendations from a student’s home district. Two of those recommendations need to be from teachers, and one of the teacher recommendations needs to be from a math teacher. Students also have to interview with Whipple and Trusock.

While the criteria may sound quite extensive to some, Whipple said the ISD wants to ensure that the academy includes students who will do well and not fall behind.

“(The academy is at) an accelerated pace, and we didn’t want to set students up for failure,” Whipple said.

He said there are 24 seats available in the academy. Thirty students applied, but some didn’t meet the requirements. So far, 19 have accepted the invitation to be in the academy. The academy’s curriculum will be modeled after the St. Clair RESA program, Whipple said.

Whipple said two classes — one science and one math — will be offered in the first semester of the academy, and these classes will be for both high school and college credit. A third class — a research class — will be offered for high school credit only. Thereafter, three classes will be offered per semester and all will be for high school and college credit. All academy students will be in the same classes each semester.

Whipple said the math classes to be offered include pre-calculus, calculus, calculus II and calculus III. The science classes will include chemistry, chemistry II, physics and physics II.

Whipple and Colby said Bad Axe High School was chosen as the site for the academy because it has a chemistry lab available. However, academy students will still need to complete lab projects at a college-level lab. On some Saturdays, they will be traveling to SC4 in Port Huron to use the labs on campus, as the college has state-of-the-art equipment not available at most high schools.

Colby said the funding for the academy will come from the state. The HISD receives about $58,000 annually for its math and science center, located at the HISD building. The center provides leadership, curriculum support, professional development, and student services to educators in local school districts. In addition to the state funding, the academy will receive financial support from local districts who have students in the academy. Districts receive a per-student foundation allowance, and that amount is currently $7,204. To help fund the math and science academy, each district that has a student in the academy will be paying 20 percent of each student’s foundation allowance, which is about $1,440.

Colby said the academy is different from AP classes that some high schools offer. He said with an AP class, a student takes a test at the end of the class to determine if he/she could get college credit for that class. Also, successful completion of an AP class is only a recommendation for college credit — it is not a guarantee of college credit.

Students have the option of whether or not to take the academy classes for both high school and college credit; if they do not need high school credit for a class, they can opt to take the class for college credit only. This would need to be worked out with a student’s home district.

Colby said students in this academy will likely exceed the necessary credits for the core curriculum required to graduate high school.

“They’re not giving up anything,” he assured. “These students will be much better prepared for the college experience. This will be a great way to get themselves started.”

He said the experience also will help boost their self confidence, as they’ll be tackling material that is written for students years older.

Whipple said he’s enjoyed meeting the academy candidates.

“They are really highly motivated, bright students,” he said. “Envisioning a class with all of these students together and how much they’ll be able to accomplish is a neat thing.”

Trusock said academy students will be able to take classes they otherwise may not have the opportunity to take at their home districts.

“I’m looking forward to getting to work with the students on an ongoing basis to see what we can do with math and science,” she said.

Whipple said the academy will provide a top-notch educational atmosphere.

“It puts them in an environment where they’re learning with other highly motivated students,” he said. “They’ll be earning college credits in a small classroom environment, which will be a nice transition. They’ll be much more prepared to jump into college academia.”

He noted because students can earn up to 36 college credits for free in the academy, this can be a huge economical advantage for families.

Whipple said the academy will help prepare students for career areas that are very important to the future of the U.S.

“We need to become more competitive in this global economy, and the areas (this country is) behind in are math, science and engineering. Hopefully, this academy will inspire students to pursue careers in these areas,” he said.

Watch Monday’s Huron Daily Tribune for a story about the early college partnership with Baker College that allows high school juniors and seniors to get a great headstart on a dual associate’s degree in information technology.